Medical experts, aid stations in place for Pittsburgh Marathon runners
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - One guarantee during the Pittsburgh Marathon is that people are going to need medical assistance.
While runners take the course of the Pittsburgh Marathon, a team of 300 volunteer medical professionals are standing by, ready to help those who need it.
They usually see about 200 to 300 patients per marathon.
With a medical tent at the finish line, UPMC will provide medical care at 17 first aid stations along the marathon route.
The medical tent is just a block from the finish line and is fully stocked with medications. They can provide cardiac monitoring and administer electricity or defibrillation if needed, said Leonard Weiss, the marathon's medical director.
"We think that runners are protected and safe. They should give it all they got. They should know [that] we have all their backs," Weiss said.
The medical tent serves as a field hospital. It has an ICU. If a runner's temperature is too high, they have ice baths. They also have doctors actively running along the course, said race organizer, P3R CEO Troy Schooley.
"Our medical team is really the best in the world. I go to marathons all over the world, and UPMC Sports Medicine [is the best at] what they do, not just at the start line or the finish line," Schooley said.
The race starts at 7 a.m. Sunday.